Fibre can ‘help heart attack survivors live longer’

Heart attack survivors have a greater chance of living longer if they incorporate more fibre into their diet, suggests new research published on the British Medical Journal’s website.

According to the study, those who eat the most fibre have a 25 per cent reduced risk of dying within the nine years following their heart attack, compared to those who eat the least.

Findings of the research demonstrated that every ten additional grammes of fibre intake was linked to a 15 per cent lower risk of dying during the same period.

As more people than ever are surviving myocardial infarctions, it is important to discover what lifestyle changes can be made to improve long-term health prospects.

The research team conducted a meta-analysis of two large studies, which consisted of 121,700 women and 51,529 men. Of these, 2,258 women and 1,840 men experienced a heart attack and survived.

They were then followed for around nine years after their heart attack, during which time 682 of the women and 451 of the men died.

The authors of the study concluded: “Future research on lifestyle changes post-MI should focus on a combination of lifestyle changes and how they may further reduce mortality rates beyond what is achievable by medical management alone.”